Portable storage rack



0 8 2 5 7, 2 L A K C F A R RE m 0 Wm AE L L mm .on w

June 26, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 7, 1954 MR M u m KW r .A A CLN; A 0M MA NW PA June 26, 1956 A. M. LAWLOR ETAL 2,752,080

PORTABLE STORAGE RACK Filed Dec. '7, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

. 2b ,2 F -T1 L PATRICIA C. KADOW INVENTORSI M LAM LOP m/Tm A T TORNE' Y United States PDRTABLE STORAGE RACK Application December 7, 1954, Serial No. 473,575

6 Claims. (Cl. 224-48) The invention relates to storage racks for jars, bottles, flasks and other containers containing chemical or other materials, and particularly to portable racks for such use.

The invention is specifically directed to, although not limited to, improvements in racks for use in biological or chemical laboratories to store and transport simultaneously with safety a number or" such containers containing materials in essentially liquid form, such as liquid staining materials or liquid chemical reagents, to various locations in the laboratory where these materials are to be used in connection with tests or experiments on biological or chemical substances.

Such containers are often made from fragile material, such as glass, subject to breakage if carelessly handled, and may be of such shape or construction as to be easily tipped over or jarred accidentally during movement of the rack on which they are carried from one location to another. This may result in loss or" part or all of the materials in one or more containers, adulteration of the materials in other adjacent containers or damage to the rack itself or adjacent laboratory equipment or premises, due to spattering or spillage of the materials from the containers so affected. It is apparent that if the material in the containers broken, tipped over or jarredis corrosive in nature, such as an acid, the spillage or spattering of the material from these containers might cause serious damage to valuable laboratory equipment.

It is sometimes desirable that the containers be so arranged on such a rack in a particular order to insure that the contained materials are used by a laboratory technician, while the containers are on the rack or as they are removed therefrom, in a corresponding order required by .test procedures. For example, if several of the containers on a rack contain difierent liquid stains to be used for respectively staining diiierent portions of a biological specimen with different colors or shades of color so that these portions may be accurately identified when the specimen is examined under a microscope, the arrangement of these containers on the rack or their removal therefrom in the wrong order might result in improper application of the stains to the biological specimen so that the latter will be useless for the desired purpose, or possibly consequent misinterpretation of the microscopic analysis of the specimen.

A general object of theinvention is to improve portable storage racks so as to obviate such difficulties in connection with their use.

Another object is to improve such storage racks from the standpoint of simplicity of construction; cost; appearance; reduction in the number of required parts; ease of fabrication and handling; and versatility of use.

A more specific object is to provide a rack of simple atent O 2,752,080 Patented June 236, .1956

ice j and economical construction capable of being lifted and moved easily by a single person, for storing and moving simultaneously a number of jars, bottles, flasks or other containers of a particular type, containing materials essentially liquid in form, to different ,locations with safety, i. e., substantially without danger of accidental breaking, upsetting or jarring of the containers and thus spattering or spillage of the contained materials either while the rack is stationary or being moved; and to enable the containers to be stored on the rack and removed therefrom in a desired order. V V

The portable rack in accordance with the invention is adapted for storing and transporting simultaneously a substantial number of containers of the type having enlarged lower portion and an, upper portion of smaller width, diameter or area, such as a hash having a bulging lower body portion and an upper stem or neck po tion of smaller diameter. In one embodiment, this rack includes as essential elements: (1) a table-lilie base memher having a flat top of substantially. rectangular or square shape, serving as a supporting surface for the containers; (2) a plurality of fin-like members mounted on. and aflixed to the top of the base member and disposed sq as to provide a plurality of slots or grooves extending longitudinally from end to end of the base member and having such configuration that each is adapted to hold a number of the containers in a secure, upright position and to allow these containers to be inserted in and re: moved from the grooves at either end of the rack; (3) two end members respectively hinged to opposite ends of the base member, which, when swung upwards to one extreme position will close ofi opposite ends of all of the grooves so as to prevent the containers from sliding ofi the rack while the latter is being moved, and, when swung downwardly to the other extreme position will unblock the ends of all the grooves so that the containers may be inserted therein to load the rack or be removed therefrom at either end of the rack; and (4) handles attached to the two end members, providing means for enabling the rack to be lifted and moved ,to any desired position by a single person.

A feature of the invention is that the base and fin members of the rack may be formed in one unitary structure from a single metal plate by simple mechanical pressing, or pressing and cutting operations, by inexpensive machinery which is available on the market.

Another feature is a construction of the rack which prevents the containers stored on the rack from being accidentally tipped over, broken or jarred excessively while the rack is being moved from place to place.

Another feature is the provision of a sulficiently stiff action for the hinges connecting the end members to the base member so that when the former members are swung to their extreme upper positions they will remain in these positions until they are forcibly swung to their lower extreme positions by an attendant, thereby preventing the containers from accidentally sliding off the rack while it is being moved.

Another feature is the use of flexible metal or other material for the fin members forming the grooves, or the use of a resilient material, such as felt or rubber, for lining the insides of the grooves, so that such grooves will be adapted for use with containers of different sizes and will hold these containers more securely while the rack is being moved.

These and other features of the invention and the advantages thereof will be better understood from the following 4 3 detailed description when it is read in conjunction with the several figures of the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective assembly view of one embodiment of the rack of the invention, with a number of containers mounted thereon and the end members closed to condition the rack for being moved;

Fig. 2 shows a perspective assembly view of another embodiment in which the base and fin members are combined in a single unitary structure, and including an exploded perspective view of the end members and associated handles, and the hinges used for attaching these end members to opposite ends of the base member;

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of a portion of another embodiment of the rack of the invention in which the base memberand the fin members are combined in a unitary structure in a different manner;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation view of a portion of the rack, partly in section, illustrating in more detail how the end members are attached to the base member; and 7 Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are sectional views taken along the lines 5--5', 6-6 and 7-7 in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, respec tively, illustrating more clearly how the base and end 7 members are. combined in the several embodiments of the rack of the invention shown in the latter figures.

In the embodiment of Fig. l, the rack of the invention includes a table-like base member BM formed from a single plate of sheet metal, such as steel, aluminum, etc., bent as shown along lines in parallel with each other and near opposite sides of the plate to provide a flat top portion 1 of rectangular shape, to be employed as the supporting surface of containers 2 carried on the rack; and two equal downwardly extending side portions 3 at right angles to the top portion, serving as feet to hold the top portion 1 in a horizontal plane when the rack is placed on a table or other level supporting structure at a rack loading or unloading point or near a point of proposed use of the materials contained in the containers. The size of the top portion 1 of the base member is determined by the number and size of the containers to be carried on the rack and the maximum outside dimensions which a rack can have in order to be conveniently handled by a single person. In the rack in accordance with the invention which was constructed and used experimentally in a laboratory, the rectangularly-shaped top portion 1 of the base member BM was 22 inches long and 14 inches wide.

In the rack shown in Fig. 1, an even number of fin members PM, each made from a long, narrow strip of sheet metal, are positioned at equally spaced points across the top surface 1 of the base member, so that they extend longitudinally in the same direction from one end of that member to the other. Each of these strips FM is aflixed along one of its long edges to the top of the base member 7 by welding or other suitable securing means. As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the individual fin member FM in each pair of adjacent members spaced across the top surface 1 of base member BM are oppositely angularly disposed with respect to that surface so that they converge to provide a trapezoidally-shaped enclosure or groove 4 extending longitudinally from one end of the rack to the other and having such dimensions as to accommodate therein the enlarged lower portions 2a of a number of the containers 2 in line, and a longitudinally-extending space or slot 5 in the top of this groove, between the upper ends of these members, having a width just sufficient to accommodate that of the smaller portion 2b of one of the containers 2.

Each of the plurality of partially-enclosed grooves thus 7 formed extending longitudinally in parallel relation with each other along the top of the base member provides the smaller or neck portion 2b of each container extending 31p through the longitudinally extending space 5 in the top of each groove. It will be apparent that such construction will prevent any of the containers from being removed in a vertical direction from the groove, and that the sides of each groove 4 and those of the longitudinal slot or opening 5 provided at the top of each groove will so limit the free play of each of the containers as to prevent them from being broken, tipped over or jarred sufficiently by any ordinary accidental blow to which the rack may be subjected during its use for the proposed purpose, and thus to prevent any spillage or spattering of the liquid materials in any of the containers.

As shown in Fig. 1, in the exploded view of Fig. 2 and the detailed view of Fig. 4, a pair of end members EM comprising two longitudinally extending portions bent at right angles with respect to each other, each of which may be made from a single metal strip bent in that fashion, are respectively connected to opposite ends of the base member BM in each embodiment of the invention, by a; pair of hinges 6, 7 and 8, 9, respectively, located as shown,- in such manner as to allow these members to be swung upwards to the extreme position, indicated in Fig. 1, in which all of the grooves 5 are closed ofi at opposite ends of the rack by portions of these members, so as to prevent any of the containers 2 from accidentally sliding ofl? the rack during its movement from one location to another; or to allow these members to be swung downwards to the other extreme positions in which the top surfaces of these members are flush with the top portion 1 of the base member BM and thus with the bottoms of each of the grooves 5, as indicated in dot-dash lines for one of the end members EM in Fig. 4, so that a number of the containers 2 may be inserted into each of these grooves or removed therefrom one at a time from either end of the rack.

Preferably, the hinges 6, 7 and 8, 9 are designed to be sufliciently stiff in their actions so that when the two end members EM are swung to the closed positions indicated in Fig. 1, any ordinary accidental blows to which they might be subjected during movement of the rack cannot cause these members to be opened, the unblocking of the grooves requiring forcible action by a technician or other laboratory attendant to swing the two end mem bers downwards to the other extreme positions.

Suitable handles 10, 11 of any desired type are respectively attached by welding, rivets or other securing means to each of the end members BM in such manner that, when these members are in the closed position indicated in Fig. 1, the handles will project vertically upwards so as to provide means for the attendant to lift and move the rack easily to a desired location, by grasping one of the handles with each hand. Although only two such handles would he used for this purpose where the outer dimensions of the rack are such that the rack may be lifted and moved easily by a single person, where the dimensions of the rack are increased to allow a substantially greater number of containers to be stored and transported, four or more such handles may be attached to the end members at suitably selected points to provide means for enabling the rack to be lifted and moved by two or more persons.

The embodiments of the rack of the invention shown in Figs. 2 and 3 difier from that of Fig. 1 merely in showing how the base member BM and the fin members PM may he formed in one unitary structure from a single sheet metal plate. In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the longitudinal grooves 4 with the longitudinal slits 5 in the tops thereof comprise indentations of suitable shape in the plate at spaced locations across the rack, which may be provided by a pressing and extruding operation using a suitably shaped die in a manner well known in the metal forming art; and the bottom flat portions of these indentations constitute surfaces, corresponding to the flat surface 1 in Fig. l, for supporting the containers 2 in each groove. In the embodiment of Fig. 3, the longitudinal grooves 5 and associated longitudinal slit-s 4 in the tops thereof are formed by making suitable longitudinal and lateral cuts in a fiat metal plate and bending the portions of the plate material between the cuts upwards to form the adjacent sets of longitudinal fin members PM in the angular pos1- tions with respect to the remaining intermediate flat portions of the plate, Corresponding to those of the similar fin members FM in the embodiment of Fig. 1, using suitable stamps and dies for performing these operations in a manner well known in the metal forming or stamping art. The ends of the downwardly projecting plate portions 3 forming the legs of the table-like base member BM in the rack of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2 or 3, may be bent at their bottoms as shown in these figures by a suitable crimping operation well known in that art.

In order to adapt the rack for storing and transporting containers of the general type described above and illustrated in the drawing, but of a range of different sizes, the metal or other material selected for the fin member FM, or for both these members and the base member BM, may be of a flexible nature, which could be provided, for example, by using a thinner or springier metal, so that the configuration of each of the grooves 5 can be changed from that adapted for receiving the smaller size containers to that which will be adapted for receiving slightly larger containers by forcing the latter containers into the grooves. Alternatively, the insides of the grooves 5 could be lined with a suitable resilient material, such as rubber or felt, represented by the cross-hatched portions designated 12 in Fig. 5, which will adapt itself to the different sized containers as they are slid along each groove, and will hold the containers in a more secure, upright position and thus prevent spillage or spattering of any of the liquid contents of the container while the rack is stationary or being moved.

If the containers are inserted into the ends of the grooves 5 at either end of the rack, such as shown in Figs. 1, 2 or 3, in the order in which the contained materials are to be used by a technician and are numbered accordingly, they may be used in the rack or removed from the groove at the opposite end of the rack in the proper corresponding order for use by a technician.

The construction of the grooves 5 in the rack of the invention described and illustrated may be modified, of course, so as to make their configurations conform more closely to the shapes of the containers to be stored and transported, by suitable bending or shaping of the fin members either before or after they are mounted on the base member of the rack. The dimensions of diiferent portions of the rack are given above by way of example, and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various other modifications of the rack of the invention as described above and illustrated in the drawings which are within the spirit and scope of the invention will occur to persons skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

l. A rack for storing and transporting simultaneously and safely a plurality of containers of the type having an enlarged lower portion and a smaller upper portion, and containing materials which are essentially liquid in form, comprising a table-like base member having a fiat top of substantially rectangular shape, providing a supporting surface for these containers; a plurality of fin members affixed to the top of said base member and disposed thereon so as to provide between these members and said supporting surface of said base member a plurality of guide grooves or slots extending longitudinally, in substantially parallel relation with each other at spaced points across said surface, from one end of the rack to the other, the configuration of each of said grooves being such that it is adapted to hold a number of such containers securely therein in an upright position, a pair of end members respectively hingedly connected to opposite ends of said base member so that when they are both swung in one direction to one extreme position they will efiectively block the ends of all the grooves at both ends of the rack so as to prevent any of the containers from accidentally falling off the rack during its movement from one location to another, and when either is swung in the other direction to another extreme position it unblocks the ends of the grooves at that end of the rack so that the containers may be inserted into or removed from the grooves at that end, and a pair of handles respectively affixed to the end members at opposite ends of the rack, which, when both said end members are in said one extreme position, provide means for enabling said rack to be lifted and moved by a single person.

2. A rack for storing and transporting simultaneously with safety a plurality of containers of the type having an enlarged lower portion and a smaller upper portion and containing materials which are essentially liquid in form, said rack comprising a table-like base member having a flat top of substantially rectangular shape serving as a supporting surface for the containers, a plurality of tin members afiixed to said top surface of said base member and disposed thereon so as to provide between these members and that surface a plurality of guide grooves extending longitudinally in parallel relation with each other at spaced points across said surface from one end to the other of the base member, each of said grooves having a configuration such that it is adapted to accommodate the enlarged portions of a number of such containers in line and having a longitudinal slit in its top of a width adapted to accommodate that of the smaller portion of any one of said containers, so that a number of said containers may be inserted into each of said grooves from either end and slid therealong held in a secure upright position with their enlarged lower portions in the groove proper and their smaller portions projecting up through the longitudinal slit in its top, a plurality of end members respectively hingedly connected to opposite ends of said base member, which when swung upwardly to one extreme position will effectively close off all of said grooves at both ends and each of which when swung downwardly to another extreme position will unlock the ends of all the grooves at its end of the rack, and a pair of hinges respectively affixed to each of said end members providing manual means adapted, when both of said end members are in said one extreme position, for enabling the rack to be lifted and moved by a single person.

3. The rack of claim 1, in which said base member comprises a metal plate bent along two lines in parallel with each other and respectively near opposite sides of the plate to form an upper portion flat on top and of rectangular shape, to be employed as said supporting surface for said containers, and two equal downwardly extending end portions at right angles to said top portion, serving as feet for said top portion, and said fin members comprise narrow metal strips each respectively afiixed along one of its long edges to the top of said upper portion of said base member at spaced points thereacross, the portions of the individual fin members in each pair of adjacent such members being angularly disposed with respect to each other to form one of said longitudinally extending guide grooves in a trapezoidal shape and of such dimensions as to accommodate the enlarged lower portions of a number of said containers in line, and with a longitudinally extending slot in the top of the groove having a width just sufiicient to accommodate that of the smaller upper portion of one of said containers, whereby a plurality of such containers may be inserted into each groove and slid therealong in a secure, upright position with their enlarged lower portions in the groove proper and their smaller upper portions projecting up through said longitudinally extending slot in the top of the groove.

4. The rack of claim 1, in which one or more pairs of hinges are used for hingedly connecting each end member to opposite ends of said base member, said hinges being relatively stiff in their actions so that when said end members have been swung thereby to said one extreme position in which they block the ends of all said grooves, they will maintain said end members in that position until they being accidentally dislodged from the groove. a e 5. The rack of claim 1, in which said fin members are made from flexible material so that they are adapted for holding containers of a range of difierent sizes.

6. The rack of claim 1, in which said grooves are lined with a resilient material so as to be adapted for holding therein containers of a range of difierent sizesin a secure upright position.

References Cited in'the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,331,038 Meller Oct. 5, 1943 2,461,317 Dreher Feb. 8, 1949 2,540,392 Haskell Feb. 6, 1951 a FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 15; 1939 

